Our Story

HOLLYWOOD

Is Our History

Almost 100 years after the dedication of Sunset Boulevard, The Los Angeles Film School opened its doors. In a story that includes iconic moments, from the creation of the Walk of Fame to the Hollywood Sign, we are a new chapter. Sunset went from being a cattle path at the turn-of-the-century to the world-famous boulevard where our campus is located today.

SUNSET BOULEVARD

A Timeline

1904
22 miles long and following an old cattle path, Sunset Boulevard was dedicated in May of 1904. Sunset may have been its name, but the boulevard’s grand opening was the dawn of a new age in L.A. history, as a parade of automobiles, horse-drawn carriages and electric railcars puttered over the roadway that now connected downtown to the then-independent city of Hollywood.

1923
Situated on Mt. Lee with 45-foot-tall letters, the Hollywood Sign was originally created in 1923 as an advertisement for a local housing development called “Hollywoodland”. In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stipulated that “Land” must be removed, spelling out “Hollywood” to reflect the whole district, not just the development.

1929
The first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16th, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of 270 people. The cost for a guest ticket to the ceremony was only $5 and the very first Academy Award was given to Emil Jannings as Best Actor for his performances in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh.

1958
Made up of over 2,300 stars, The Walk of Fame runs 1.3 miles from Gower to La Brea. In the early 1950’s, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president, E. M. Stuart, proposed the Walk as a means to “…maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.” Construction began in 1958.

1911
October 27th, 1911, The Nestor Motion Picture Company opened the first movie studio located within Hollywood by renting what was then the shuttered Blondeau Tavern building on the corner of Sunset and Gower for $40 a month. The very first motion picture stage was built behind the tavern.

1927
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre opened May 18th, 1927. The first wet-cement handprint and signature was from construction foreman, Jean Klossner who autographed his work by the right-hand poster kiosk, where it can still be seen today.

1942
Founded on June 4th, 1942, Capitol Records was the first West Coast-based label in the U.S. In 1956, just west of Hollywood and Vine, the Capitol Records Tower opened. The building’s design was based on graduate school drawings by Lou Naidorf and it’s only coincidence it resembles a stack of records on a turntable.

1999
Almost 100 years after the dedication of Sunset Boulevard, the historic RCA Building at 6363 Sunset, used by Elvis and The Rolling Stones, becomes The Los Angeles Film School. In May of 1999, Oliver Stone leads the inauguration ceremony and begins our part in Hollywood’s golden legacy.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

RCA Studio B

Our foundation is built on a rich history of Hollywood entertainment – literally. Our building located at 6363 Sunset Boulevard was originally the historic RCA building, a recording studio, which was used by legendary music artists such as Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Henry Mancini and others, from the time it opened its doors on April 21, 1964 through the 1970s.

LAFS OPENS ITS DOORS

August 2nd 1999

In the spring of 1999, a group of Hollywood professionals with a love for all things film founded The Los Angeles Film School. By August, the school held its official ground-breaking ceremony. Acclaimed director, Oliver Stone, spoke at the dedication, followed by a professional stunt team free-falling off of the school’s roof.

Directors may scale to great heights… and actors may wither and die,
but film schools will always last.

– OLIVER STONE

OUR MISSION is your education

Let’s Grow Together

When we opened LAFS, our goal was to establish a school where current industry professionals could share their knowledge with a new generation of filmmakers, but that was just the start.

In 2009, we introduced an associate degree in Computer Animation, broadening our educational offerings significantly. In 2012, we premiered our first bachelor’s degree program with Entertainment Business. Our growth continues even now, as we build robust online degrees in Graphic Design and Digital Filmmaking, just to name a few. We’ve come a long way, but the journey has been rewarding and exciting and is far from over. Explore our exciting programs below and see how far we’ve come!

THE L.A. RECORDING SCHOOL

A Division of The Los Angeles Film School

LARS began in 1985 as The Los Angeles Recording Workshop. In 2010, it officially became The L.A. Recording School, a division of The L.A. Film School—bringing with it an intensive audio program, which complemented our existing degrees well. In 2013, a Music Production program was added to the roster and in 2017, LARS saw the introduction of its very first bachelor’s degree with Audio Production.

It ALL starts here

Begin Your Journey

There’s still so much more history to make. Click on the button below to learn more about the school or our degrees in Film, Animation, Audio, Music and Entertainment Business. We want you to be a part of our story.

This institution is a private institution approved to operate by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. Approval to operate means the institution is compliant with the minimum standards contained in the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (as amended) and Division 7.5 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. Click here to access Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education website.